Driver Digital Studios has tapped marketing and licensing vet Melanie Summers for the role of chief brand officer, as the company seeks to expand its existing IP portfolio.<\/p>\n
In the role, Summers will be responsible for all marketing, licensing and business development for the company’s existing and new IP. She will also lead the Driver team in seeking and evaluating strategic partners to jointly create kids\u2019 properties.<\/p>\n
Summers most recently served as managing director at Periscope Consulting, advising brands on business strategy and brand development for clients, including Sesame Workshop and Sensible Object. Prior to that position, she was VP for the Emeril brand at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. She has also held positions at Nickelodeon\/Viacom Consumer Products, MTV Networks International and The Jim Henson Company.<\/p>\n
Driver\u2019s existing portfolio includes kids\u2019 YouTube shows Dream Mining<\/em> and Cool School<\/em>, which has more than 1 million subscribers and 1.1 billion views.<\/p>\n Summers said: \u201cDriver Digital Studios has been a rapidly rising and now proven leader in developing high-quality content and growing an engaged audience on all relevant screens for this generation\u2019s kids and families. I\u2019m excited to take Driver\u2019s excellent brands like Cool School<\/em> to its next stage of development as a holistic brand, and also seek out new opportunities and the right partners to disrupt the traditional kids\u2019 brand development process and co-develop fun and innovative IP.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMelanie Summers\u2019 vast experience and knowledge in building lasting and beloved brands is invaluable as Driver moves towards building our portfolio,\u201d said Scott Weitz, founder and CEO of Driver Digital. \u201cThe world of kids entertainment is quickly evolving, and while Driver has the content and audience development expertise, Melanie has the vision and strategy to build a brand for today\u2019s kids and families. Today, families who discover a new great brand via a digital experience expect to immediately find their favorite characters and brands across all touch points. We want our brands to thrill and excite kids on every level.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Driver Digital Studios has tapped marketing and licensing vet Melanie Summers for the role of chief brand officer, as the company seeks to expand its existing IP portfolio.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1049,"featured_media":16395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[1268,4577],"class_list":["post-16394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-driver-digital-studios","tag-melanie-summers","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n